Indianapolis Colts

A baseball coach wants to help the Colts keep Andrew Luck healthy

Published Mar. 24, 2016 11:36 a.m. ET

foxsports

Andrew Luck is a big man who's admirably willing to take shots and deliver them, but he's also the Colts' franchise player. And Colts owner Jim Irsay and head coach Chuck Pagano are trying to impress upon him that he must do a better job of protecting himself to keep the ball -- and not a clipboard -- in his hands.

Last November, rather than go down sliding after scrambling for a yard against the Denver Broncos in Week 9, Luck stayed upright and took a shot from linebacker Danny Travathan and then defensive tackle Vance Walker. Luck suffered a lacerated kidney on the play and partially tore an abdominal muscle, which sidelined Luck for the remainder of the season.

There's a baseball coach in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, Indianapolis Indians manager Dean Treanor, who has offered to instruct Luck on sliding and there's probably many more who would relish the opportunity.

"I'll gladly do it," Treanor said. "I'm ready if the Colts ever call. In fact we've got a sliding clinic coming up in Indianapolis. And if it's raining we'll have the tarp out to slide on."

It would help if the Colts improved their offensive line, but that's another story.